Da-Han Kuan

Recent advancements in microfluidics that integrate electrical sensors for whole blood analysis Whole blood analysis reveals crucial information about various physiological and pathological conditions, including cancer metastasis, infection, and immune status, among others. Despite this rich information, the complex composition of whole blood usually required multiple sample preparation steps to purify targeted analytes.

The microfluidic device is composed of a whole blood inlet, buffer inlet, and bifurcation region, which lead to three collection zones for blood components: a plasma zone, RBC zone, and WBC zone. The RBC/WBC separation mechanism is based on the bifurcation law and cross-flow method28. Based on a previous study, a flow rate ratio of 1:10 between the whole blood and phosphate buffered saline (PBS) is ideal for RBC/WBC separation.

The hemoglobin-A1c test, measuring the ratio of glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) to hemoglobin (Hb) level, has been a standard assay in diabetes diagnosis that removes the day-to-day glucose level variation. Currently, the HbA1c test is restricted to hospitals and central laboratories due to the laborious, time-consuming whole blood processing and bulky instruments.